Here is the final chapter of White Shadows. Special thanks to go to my honorary muse Bakura's Angel, who suggested the final fate of Bakura and Ryou, and to my beta readers Cha Oseye Tempest Thrain and DracOnyx.
Thanks to everyone who reads this – I appreciate your patience.
White Shadows – Chapter 5
I close my eyes, listening to the screaming of my landlord in my mind. Ryou howls like a beast, barricaded by the power of my family's ghosts and my Dark God. The moment I renewed my oath to the Dark One, his power protected me from the wrath of my hikari and I was partially free of the curse. I may still be immortal, and still blocked from using Shadow Magic, but now I can plan – I can act without Ryou interfering. And in that instant of communion with Zork, I understood.
I have to go back. Go back to my lost village, to the tomb where Atem sealed the Dark God. I may have been beaten, but Zork had only been destroyed within the game – a part of him, it seemed, still sleeps in the real world. And all I have to do is go and wake him up.
I'll need all the Items again…just stealing them will do. I would like to be able to use their powers, but it doesn't matter. For this, I won't have to.
Yugi first; wielder of the Puzzle and the Tauk, bane of my existence. I slip into Yugi's bedroom silently – and smirk as I see both Yugi and the Pharaoh tucked into the bed, sound asleep. The bedroom is simple and plain…with both Puzzle and Tauk laying out on the bedside table, free for the taking. I could just steal the Items, but that wouldn't be enough…I want my revenge, and Ryou can't stop me.
With the grace and stealth of a shadow, I creep across the room, ignoring the impotent howling of my light half as I draw a thin, deadly knife. Neither stir as I raise the blade, slashing it across the exposed throat of the Pharaoh in a single motion.
Blood flies everywhere as I sever the artery; he doesn't even have time to realize he's dead before his body goes limp. Yugi wakes, screaming at the blood soaking himself and his darkness, eyes dilated and mad with shock. For a moment I debate leaving him alive in pain; then I remember that as long as he lives, the Pharaoh has a foothold on the world and my knife falls again, stilling the screams forever.
I smirk as I take the golden Puzzle and Tauk; Zork's voice whispers in my mind, instructing me to bathe them in the mingled blood of the Pharaoh and his light. My laughter fills the room – at last, at long last, the Pharaoh's line is gone.
I wish I had time to savor the deed, but there will be opportunity for that later – for now I run, leaving my triumph behind. Ryou begs me to stop, but I ignore him.
At least until I get outside, making my way to the home of my next prey, licking the blood from my knife and fingers. :Why should I be sorry, Ryou: I taunt my light half, who howls in rage and pain. :Because I killed them? Because I destroyed you? You are just one of the many hosts I have had throughout my life, yandoushi. You are nothing to me. They are nothing to me.:
The mansion of Seto Kaiba is vast and well guarded, but to one of my skills it is a simple puzzle. He doesn't know I'm coming for the Rod in his possession, the Item he refuses to acknowledge. It takes me less time than I expected to find Rod – he left it on the table in the family room, no doubt exactly where Yugi put it down. I take it, running my fingers gently over the smooth surface. The golden Eye glimmers for a moment before dying… a warning. It calls its true Master. I don't want to fight Kaiba awake and aware, so I wait, hiding in the shadows until footsteps enter the room, the light flickering on to reveal Kaiba, dressed in only black silk pajamas. With a swift movement I unsheathe the knife in the Rod and impale the billionaire on the sharp blade. Kaiba gasps, ice blue eyes widening as his mind takes in the pain and the shock, his knees collapsing as the weapon greedily drinks in his blood. It's a heart-shot…he's dead in seconds.
:At least I'm not being cruel, Ryou.: I smirk at my light half, who's shaking now. The wails died at some point, and he's watching me with a dead look in his eyes. Good – now maybe he'll leave me alone.
I pull the knife out – the blood literally absorbs into the Item, tainting the gold ruddy. Curious, I pull out the Puzzle and the Tauk to see that the same thing has happened to them. So, the blood sacrifice is changing the Items. I suppose I will have to offer my blood for the Ring and the Eye…but that can wait. For now I slink through the house, looking for Kaiba's safe.
In some ways Khemet hasn't changed since my time. The people swear by a different God, but thieves and beggars, murderers and whores still prowl the streets, looking for victims. It's almost homey.
It's been a couple of days since I left Japan, using money stolen from Kaiba to buy a ticket to Egypt – and a false passport. Now no one knows where I am…even the man who sold me the papers will only be telling his story to Anubis. Ryou hasn't moved from his position in my soul room – I vaguely wonder if he's given up on me entirely. That would be nice…he can be annoying, and I need my wits about me. For the next person I need to find is Shadi – holder of the Scales and the Ankh, and a dangerous adversary. By now he will know that I am coming, so I have to use a different plan of attack.
The Pharaoh's curse is working for me now…I'm cut off from the Shadow Realm, so Shadi can't sense me. He can still sense the Items, though … something I'm counting on. I spot a vendor with the supplies I need and absently barter him down to a reasonable price. I will need food and water, and a camel…it's not wise to cross the desert on foot if it can be avoided, and my village is at least four days from here.
Supplied, I find a spot to wait for the heat of the day to dissipate, absently watching the pickpockets ply their trade.
:Kura-chan: Ryou whispers suddenly. :Kura, why did you kill them? I don't understand…:
:They were in my way.: I answer coldly. :And the Pharaoh…he deserved it. His power rested on the bodies and souls of my people…he deserved no less, and certainly a great deal more than the painless death I gave him.:
:Kura-chan…why did you kill me:
I almost choked on a sip of water. Ryou…sounded almost sane. What had happened? Had the shock of seeing his friends die actually brought him back from insanity?
:Kura…answer me, please. Why did you kill me:
:Because I hate you and I want to be free of you and this life.: I am many things, but a liar isn't one of them. Honesty is more powerful than lies, and often hurts far worse.
:And now…you will free Zork and take over the world:
:Take it over: I smirk at the helpless spirit of my former host. :Why would I want to run this rat-infested, polluted hellhole? I want to destroy it, yandoushi.:
:Oh.: Ryou shivered slightly; I saw the pale blue of his eyes fill with water and turned away in disgust before he started bawling.
Four days, and I find myself in the ruins of Kuru Erna, my former home. Ryou hasn't spoken to me during the entire time – a blessing. It's hard to appreciate silence until you can't have it.
I hold in my hands all seven Items. As I expected, Shadi came to me in the desert – but because he couldn't sense me, I managed to ambush him. I took his Items and bathed them in his heart's blood – now there is only the last two. But I can't see where I need to go – with my powers blocked, the path to the Gate is barred. I need that information.
And there is one way to get it. I pick up the Eye and hold it in my hand, staring down at it. Sometimes I wonder why I stole it in the first place – I've never used it. The price is too great.
But I don't care now. I press the Eye to my head and scream as it erupts in light and fire, gouging out my left eye to make room for the golden orb. The pain is excruciating… but not more than I have felt before.
Less than a minute later and it is over. I blink open my good eye, still awash with tears, and search for the path.
There. I set the camel loose – I won't need it anymore – and follow the path to the Gate. I will pay the price – I will destroy the world, and myself with it.
The Gate looms before me – I stare at the carvings, mouth dry with anticipation. It's almost time. Time to cast aside this mortal shell. Time to finally beat the Pharaoh at this game. My hands don't shake as I place the Item's in the slots; I pull the Eye from my own face with a grimace of pain and smear some of the running blood on the Ring before I place them in their places.
I will summon my Dark God to me. I know that he will do this – he wishes to destroy the world as much as I do. The Items start to glow as I kneel by the slab and the earth shivers as the door to the Other World opens.
/What do you wish of me/ Zork's voice echoes through me as I shiver in rapture.
"Master…I desire the end of all things. I wish to end this world and this existence. I have served you always…I implore you, grant my plea."
/As you wish…but I demand a sacrifice. Whose life do you offer for this boon/
"My own. Take my soul Master…take me from this realm and time. I wish only oblivion."
/Very well./ Darkness engulfs me – the pain is delicious. I fall into it, knowing that I will never feel anything again.
Darkness fades to shadow and I open my eyes.
No!
I wasn't supposed to wake up!
"You are with me now." Zork whispers. "I get lonely in the dark…and now you will be with me until the end of time…"
Epilogue
The stars shine with cold light on the Tablet of the Gate. All is quiet, the darkness fading to normal night.
Fallen in a pose of supplication, a white-haired body twitched. Slowly the hands moved, levering the body upwards until the face could shake clear the blood-soaked strands of hair.
Ryou looked around. He was alone in his mind…Kura was gone. Gone forever…
No. He shook his head in fierce denial.
Not gone.
A mad laugh escaped his lips. He looked at the Slab. The Items gleamed in red-gold perfection, calling him. He was the last…the last of the Item-bearers, save Isis and Malik. He would take them…he would use them.
If need be, he would destroy the world – rip it apart at the seams to retrieve the other half of his soul.
He would get his yami back from the clutches of the Darkness and bring him to the Light where he could protect him.
Forever.
